Good grief

isn't just the catch phrase of Charlie Brown. As of last week, I am on the Editorial Board for the Truett Journal (this ties in, I swear). Specifically, I'm working on the publication side of it. As a result, Jason told Petra, Kimberley, and me to take some of the old journals to read and figure out the general layout.

I started with the latest volume- Fall 2006, not realizing that the beginning was a dedication to Dr. Ruth Ann Foster. Now, I've never met Dr. Foster (although my pastor has and had told me about her passing) so I really have no reason to be completely overwhelmed by what was written about her. But here I sit holding back tears and mourning for a person long since passed that I never met and has been attempted to be summer up in about 15 pages. And all I can think about is that this is a good grief.

Grief always seems so negative. When my grandmother died, we didn't have a funeral. Instead we had a celebration of life. It makes sense in a way to celebrate when someone that truly loved God passes and isn't suffering anymore and instead is rejoicing with the Lord, but I can't help but think that its not fair to make those left celebrate. Almost three years later I'm still grieving for the loss of her in my life. When I read about Dr. Foster every description about her makes me think that we should be celebrating her life, but that seems inadequate. Like we aren't allowing ourselves to mourn.

But then why is grief negative? Can't it be positive? Don't we have a way to allow it to be "good grief" by jointly celebrating that person's life AND mourning the loss? It seems like this is the kind of grief we should express on Good Friday. A grief that deeply resounds for the death of Christ, but one that is also hopeful because we know the resurrection is coming. It is in this light that we should mourn for the world- a world that has died to God but one that is going back toward Him.

Thursday nights apparently make me theological.